Jan's Bible NotesGenesis 29
Studying the Old Testament:
We all have a certain amount of knowledge about God and about the Bible, each to different degrees. Most Christians struggle with the problem of how to translate that knowledge into everyday life--getting it from the “back of our minds” into the “front,” from head knowledge to practical application.
As we’re looking at the Old Testament, we’re seeing that the method God is using to speak to us is stories about people’s lives, as opposed to the more succinct teachings of the New Testament, where Jesus or Paul just TELL us how we are to live. The Old Testament stories don’t come with commentaries; we have to analyze them ourselves and try to draw conclusions that are consistent with what God has revealed about Himself.
As we are striving for growth in our own lives, could we use this same technique? What if we wrote out the story of our lives--what we thought were the key events--and analyzed it, like we do in Bible study? Would that help us to see what God is doing in our lives?
We probably don’t want to write that down, but we can do the same thing by spending time thinking about our lives—not just what is going on right now, but looking back and trying to see what God has been doing, how He has been leading, what He has been trying to teach us, what He is wanting to teach us. Do you ever do that? Some of us are more introspective than others, but this is an exercise that all can do. Ask God to show you these things as you think about the events of your life. Ask Him to open your eyes, to give you insight. He will. Try to find a verse, or verses, that summarize your insight so you can be sure that your conclusions are based on solid Bible truths.
There are three levels of knowledge we can have about the Old Testament. 1. We can just become familiar with the story. 2. Then, we can learn to see what God was doing in these people's lives. 3. Then, we can look at the story, in the light of what we see God doing in that person’s life or that event, and say, how does this apply to me? How does this help me to understand better what the Bible is about, who God is, what He is like, what He is doing in the world? How does this help me to understand myself better? Am I like this? What does this show me about what God might be wanting to do in my life, or what is this warning me to be careful of? In what way might I need to change? Ask God to show you these things, and He will.
When you begin doing this, the Old Testament starts to get really exciting!
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1-3 Jacob arrives at his destination. Did he have exact directions to this place, or did he "happen" upon this place, by God's divine intervention? Did he just "happen" to arrive at the time Rachel was about to show up? Did Rachel just "happen" to show up then, or had God been leading and working in her day's activities to cause that to happen? When God is leading us, do we always know it or feel it? Or do we usually only recognize afterwards that God indeed had been leading, while all along we felt we were just doing what we thought up to do, or were caught in certain circumstances? Is God always leading and working in our lives? Or only when we specifically ask Him to, or feel like He is? The Bible teaches that God is sovereign over everything in His creation, over everything that happens. He is in control, His purposes are being worked out, yet at the same time, He has given us free will. We are not programmed robots, but make choices that He holds us responsible for. That is the mystery of sovereignty and free will.
4-5 If you've read ahead and know what Laban is like, you might wonder in what tone of voice they answer him?
6 Rachel is coming. What relation is she to Jacob? At this time, it is still OK to marry relatives. This is not a sin until after the Law has been given. Earlier in man's history, mutations had not yet built up dangerously in the gene pool. But as time passes this will become more of a problem. Remember, according to Genesis, man's history is NOT millions and billions of years, only a few thousand.
7-8 How does Jacob come across to these fellows? Rather pushy--he's already telling them what to do.
9-12 Is Jacob just happy to find his relative, or is he immediately smitten with Rachel? Kissing relatives in greeting was the custom (also 29:13).
12 KJV, her father’s brother. We would not use that terminology, but it is important to notice that the Bible uses terminology that was common in that culture. This was mentioned before when talking about genealogies. They used family terms more broadly and loosely than we do. This is something to keep in mind when comparing genealogies to date the flood, or creation, etc.
13 We meet Uncle Laban.
How is Jacob probably feeling right now? Yet we know the rest of the story. Sometimes when you think you finally have the thing you really wanted, or managed to do what you thought you just had to do, it doesn’t turn out like you thought. It may even backfire. It might be just the thing that God is going to use in your life to discipline you. Ask the Lord: “Is this what you want me to do/have? Is this the best way to handle this? If not, please make it clear to me.”
Jacob is not the only believer to be given an “Uncle Laban.” This is a common method God uses, especially in families. I read a book that talks about having an “irregular person” in your life. If you do, it’s not the end of the world, even though it sometimes feels like it. God is using that person as chisel and sandpaper in your life. It’s uncomfortable, and sometimes just plain hurts, but that chisel and sandpaper are for what purpose, Rom. 8:29? You might be resentful of that person, and think, why isn’t God dealing with HIM/HER? Maybe He is, and you can’t see it, or maybe it will come later, after He has used that person to deal with you! God even uses unbelievers in this role. The Old Testament has many examples of unbelieving nations that God brings against Israel to chasten them; then He turns around and chastens that nation for their wicked ways.
Was Jacob’s only option this trip to Uncle Laban, like he thought? What other option was there? To stay home, humble himself and apologize, try to right the wrongs he had done. What do we do, or want to do, when we get in a pressure situation, maybe one brought on by our own foolishness? Do we justify ourselves? “Well, I had no choice! I had to act like that, under the circumstances!” Even if we made a bad decision at the time, we can still learn from it if we are willing to look back on our lives, as mentioned earlier, and say, now I can see that what I did back there wasn’t right. And even if I can’t change it, I can learn from it now, watch out for that snare in the future, and make sure I never act that way again, even when presented with that type of situation.
14-15 Perhaps Jacob hadn’t been helping out, and this was Laban’s way of saying he’d better get to work if he was going to hang around any longer. Perhaps Jacob had already been working, for nothing. Given the later account of how Jacob works diligently for Laban, this seems more likely.
16-20 How did Jacob feel about Rachel? I wonder if Jacob knew the custom about marrying the oldest first; one would think so. Or did Laban make up this "custom" at the last minute? If it was the custom, why didn't he mention it as soon as Jacob asked to marry Rachel? If it was the custom and Laban agreed to give Rachel to Jacob, why wasn't he busy arranging a suitable marriage for Leah first during those seven years?
21-24 The wedding. Has Laban been planning all along to deceive him, or did he come up with this at the last minute? Is God tapping Jacob rather hard on the shoulder, pointing to someone else who deceived, lying about the younger and the older? Was Leah being used here? We see that Laban did to her just what Rebekeh did to Jacob. Should we say "poor Leah"? Or is it possible that Leah was in on this? Perhaps she was in love with Jacob, and she and Laban concocted this scheme? Or perhaps she was desperate for a husband since one seemed interested in her, and she was willing to settle for a shared husband who didn't love her rather than never marry? We don't know the actual situation.
25 What situation might Jacob now be reminded of? Laban and Leah have done to Jacob what Rebekeh and Jacob did to Isaac and Esau. What conflicting thoughts and emotions do you suppose he had in the morning? Perhaps indignation, fury, hurt, desire for revenge, mixed with conviction, sorrow, humility, possibly even confession of unconfessed sin? What scriptural principle do we see at work here? Gal. 6:7. Does this apply to only believers? What about the wording of the verse makes us think not? When Paul is talking to the church, to fellow believers, he often uses "you" or "us." Here he says "a man." Both the Old and New Testaments indicate that God has built this consequence into all of life.
Back to the idea of analyzing our own lives--why are these stories about this ongoing deception here in the Old Testament? I Cor. 10:11. So that means we need to look at ourselves and ask if we have this tendency, or if we have been doing this? If the answer is yes, then the next step is, what to do about it? It’s not enough to say, “Yep, we’re like that! Boy, are we ever like that!” Often I've heard pastors or teachers say that. We should go on to say, OK, but I don’t have to be like that. God doesn’t want me to be like that. He has given me a new nature, the indwelling Holy Spirit, the power to make right choices. Confess, tell Him you want to change, and ask Him to help you.
Then what? This is the tricky part. We’d like to think that’s all that's necessary, that the change happened magically in some inner place in our heart, and we will no longer have that problem. Wrong! What generally happens is, God sends a trial to see if you will go on the same old way, or if you will trust Him and obey Him and do things differently. Because we’ve done it the wrong way before, the temptation is very strong to react in the same old way, but what does I Cor. 10:13 say? That is not just talking about drinking or sex. It means every temptation. Overeating, worrying, being mouthy, telling white lies, talking about other people. These are our real problems, not just alcohol and sex. Why? Because these are the “socially acceptable” sins that are all too often overlooked within the church. But these are the things that really eat away at us and keep us from experiencing joy and victory in our Christian lives.
26 Laban justifies his deception. He does not apologize or even admit that maybe what he did wasn’t the best way to solve the problem. Do we ever do this? Instead of admit, or even consider (which is the first step) that we MAY have been wrong, it is easier to justify our actions so that we don’t lose face. Because that’s the really important thing, isn’t it? Not to lose face? It’s hard to come right out and say, OK, you’re right and I was wrong. But if you make a tiny step in that direction, and say, well, MAYBE I didn’t exactly go about that in the best or nicest way I could, or, MAYBE I could have said it a little more nicely… If you did that, how does that make the other person feel? Immediately, they’re not quite so hostile. Then the way is open for discussion instead of arguing or the silent treatment.
Are you like Laban? Do you manipulate people, even mislead people, to get your own way? Do you control people? If so, why do you feel the need to do this? Is this pleasing to God? Do you believe that the end justifies the means? Have you convinced yourself that a little lying or cheating is justified in certain circumstances? Do you trust God enough to be willing to let things happen the way they are going to happen, and accept whatever develops as from God's hand? Do you try to control or manipulate God by making deals with Him, by trying to find a way to make Him give you what you want? Do you really know what ought to happen in each situation you try to control, with each person you try to control? Are you self-deceived? Jer. 17:9, Rom. 7:11, 12:3. Are you humble enough to admit that you don't know? Are you dealing with your pride and arrogance?
There is not much need for a Christian to go to a psychologist. If we would start by getting into the Word, and applying it, we’d see that God knows all about psychology. All the principles for human behavior are found here. Mostly we don’t want to see it, or we’re too lazy to look, or too lazy to apply it. Because it is work--the dreaded "W" word. II Tim. 2:15.
27-30 What is going to cause Jacob big trouble in the future? Did he choose this situation himself? In what way did he indirectly bring it on? We don't know whether or not he has dealt with his own sin. If he has, God has forgiven that sin, but the Bible teaches that we reap what we sow. So God has brought this unhappy situation into his life—for what purpose? To punish him? To teach him? To change him? Can we look at Jacob and say that God condones plural marriage? Just because something is recorded in the Bible does not mean God condoned it; the Bible records the sinful actions of sinful men. Because God permits us to sin, does that mean He condones that sin? We know this type of marriage is not God’s will because He has already said “a man…his wife…one flesh,” Gen. 2:24, and we will see all of the negative consequences. Can we say that God will work in this situation, in spite of the fact that we know this is not in His ideal will? Through these two wives and their two maids which will also come into the picture soon, God brings the 12 sons, the fulfillment of the promise of a great nation descended from Abraham.
So can we say, if we sin or make a choice that is definitely out of God’s will, oh well, I know God will bring good out of it, so I’m not going to get on a big guilt trip? How does God want us to react when we finally recognize that what we have done is wrong? Job 42:6, Ps. 32:5, Is. 57:15, I John 1:9. Yes, God will use that in our life somehow for good, but you will also reap the consequences of your wrong choice, Gal. 6:7. It’s a bitter-sweet situation, as we will see in Jacob’s life. It’s also an encouragement to us, because we all do wrong things and make wrong decisions, and afterward we worry about the consequences. But the Bible teaches that God is just as interested, or possibly even more interested, in the attitude and motive of our hearts that the actual things we do. Gen. 20:6, Jer. 6:19-20.
31-35 What about Leah? Is she caught in a messy situation which is not of her doing? Or was she? After all, she is a member of this family that majors in deception; she may have cooked this up, or she and Laban together. She may have been quite pleased as to how it worked out. Not all the messes we get into are of our own doing. How can we keep from getting caught up in bitterness, toward others, toward life, toward the Lord?
What about all the factors in this situation that we know nothing about? Were Leah and Rachel good friends or not before the wedding? What was their relationship after the wedding? Now they're stuck with each other for life, to say nothing of the jealousy problems regarding their shared husband. In many families, friction can be lessened by moving away from each other or having less interaction with each other. But some families run a business together; on many ranches and farms, married brothers and sisters must live and work with each other as well as with parents and grandparents. God can work in any situation.
God comforts Leah with four sons, while Rachel bears no children. Is He concerned about her hurts, the lack of love from her husband? Does God care about your family hurts and misunderstandings? If you’re locked into a less-than-perfect situation, does it mean God can’t do anything to help you? He might not change the situation, but He does change people. And it seems like the thing we struggle with is, why do I have to be the one to change? It’s that OTHER person that’s in the wrong! Why aren’t you changing him/her, God? However, you’re not responsible for that other person’s behavior. You are responsible to God for your attitudes and behavior. All you can do is try to respond to what God is saying to you, and leave the other person in God’s hands. Pray for that person.
Does Leah seem to have a sensitivity to the Lord? What can we learn from the naming of her four sons? Do we see possible evidence of change in her attitude? It appears that she starts out with the "poor me" attitude. But after several years have passed, she chooses to praise the Lord. What might have caused her to think differently? Has her focus changed? Why did it take several years? Has she begun to understand that God, not a husband, is the only one who can satisfy her deepest needs? Many women try to make their husband or their children fulfill their needs, when God is waiting to fill that place. When that doesn't happen, He will allow frustration and pain to drive them to a point where they will finally see Him as the one who must be first in their lives. We see that in their home, they did know about the Lord. But apparently not to the extent that Abraham learned to know Him and trust Him. God had Abraham leave this home; then He dealt with him further and brought Abraham into a deeper relationship with Himself.
Jacob loves Rachel, not Leah, but God's plan for the future nation of Israel includes Leah and her sons in a very important way. Two of her sons will play the biggest role in God's plan for Israel. Levi will be the tribe of priests, and Judah is the son through whose line the Messiah will eventually come. Once again we see that God does not choose the oldest son, as human custom would dictate.
Copyright 2004 Jan Young